Keep Your Body From Drying Out This Winter

You don’t have to face the blight of dry skin all winter long. There are remedies and tips you can use at home to keep your skin from drying out so you can focus on more important things. Here are a few tips (Prevention Health Books, 2003) to help your body survive this winter:

Use soap less often.
In an effort to stay “clean,” we can go a bit overboard on our use of soap. Unfortunately, soap is kryptonite for your skin. It removes oils from your skin and dehydrates it. While your skin’s oils will be replaced, the whole process leaves your skin feeling drier than ever. If your hands aren’t dirty, try to avoid from washing them too often. This can also be applied to your body if you’re used to using soap in the shower. You may want to switch to a creamy shower gel during this winter season.

Select superfatted soaps.
What soap should you use and why is soap harsh on your skin? Most soaps have lye as a key ingredient. Lye is a cleaning agent that breaks up organic particles that help keep your skin clean. But it’s also very harsh on dry skin. However, superfatted soaps or soaps that contain cocoa butter, lanolin, or coconut oil are a better option. It will serve as a cold, cleaning cream that won’t dry out your skin.

Oatmeal can do wonders.
Oatmeal has been used as soothing agent since its discovery thousands of years ago. Just add two cups of colloidal (powdered) oatmeal to a bath and watch your patchy skin disappear. The powdered oatmeal form is important so it will remain suspended in the water, soaking into your skin unlike regular oatmeal, which will float to the top of your bath. This treatment works for any skin aliment including poison ivy and chicken pox.

Kiss bad skin goodbye for winter and say hello to a happier you.

Sources:
Prevention health books. (2003). The doctors book of home remedies. New York: Bantam Books.

By Brittany Roshelle Davis